The UK's secondary schools have been thrown into the middle of the controversy over Covid vaccines for 12- and 15-year-olds. There are anti-vaxxers at school gates, and a headteacher was threatened with legal action from one of his governors.
Campaign groups and parents circulated letters accusing schools of condoning medical experimentation if the Covid vaccine programme for 12- to-15-year-olds is allowed to proceed.
One of the pro forma letters was sent to the headteacher of a secondary school located in Hertfordshire. It was signed by a member the school's governing body. The letter stated that the head would be held personally responsible if Covid jabs were administered to children without parental consent.
Outreach Worldwide members met in London on Thursday to distribute leaflets and speak to students at home as part of their informed consent campaign. This campaign aims to empower and educate teens and discourage resistance.
Anti-vax groups are expected to intensify their actions in the coming weeks, as schools start to distribute consent forms to families and then a staggered start for vaccinations.
Critics claim that parents will not be able to consent to the Gillick competence. This legal ruling states that young people can get medical treatment if they have the intelligence, competence, and understanding to understand the process.
The Department for Education (DfE), in its guidance, stated that in cases where teenagers want the jab, but their parents have not consented, healthcare professionals will make every effort to reach the family before proceeding. However, the Gillick competent parent cannot overrule the decision.
This guidance confirmed that the legal responsibility for administering the vaccine would lie with the local School Age Immunisation Service, not the schools.
Geoff Barton (general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders) warned that headteachers felt overwhelmed and intimidated by anti-vax campaigns and feared getting caught in the crossfire.
He said that there is a lot of steam behind it and that the DfE needs to address it in a very direct manner. Parents are not going to be ruled by their headteachers. Our job is to provide a safe environment for children and parents. Heads are concerned that schools could be caught in the middle of all this if there are differences between families regarding vaccinations. Our members are told that they are not expected to be involved in this.
There have been concerns that parents might be reluctant to agree to their children being vaccinated because of the heated atmosphere.
According to reports, the government wants 75% of the age group in the jab. This figure is higher than the 56% who were vaccinated last fall.
According to parent polls, there will be lower vaccination rates. Parent Ping's survey of 52% mothers found that they would allow their children to get vaccinated last year, while 76% of fathers agreed. This suggests that there may be disagreements in the household.
Barton said that initially the feeling was that there would likely be a lot of consent, because these young people had suffered so much from losing schooling and their parents have seen it. However, I believe that the complexity of this and all the counter-arguments will have unnerved some parents and could drive down the numbers.
The UK's vaccine advisory body, citing health reasons, refused approval to vaccinate healthy children between 12 and 15 years old. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation JCVI stated that children are at such a low risk of contracting the virus that jabs will only offer a marginal benefit.
The UK's four chief medical officers have the final word and have recommended vaccinations for children aged 12-15 years old on public health grounds. This is because vaccines are likely to reduce the spread of Covid-19 among schools.
Steve Bell, chief executive of Painsley Catholic Academy Group of Schools in Staffordshire, stated that he was not concerned about the quasi-legal notice he received from an anti vax group.
He stated that it was a tactic to put pressure on, but the truth is that we are currently in the middle of an epidemic and want our children to go to school. At the beginning of this term, we are already facing large numbers of Covid cases. Statistics show that the vaccine will decrease transmission and cause serious illness. This is great news for children because statistically they are more likely to go to school.
